H.B. No. 719
AN ACT
relating to polling places for certain elections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 43, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 43.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 43.007. COUNTYWIDE POLLING PLACE PROGRAM. (a) The
secretary of state shall implement a program to allow each
commissioners court participating in the program to eliminate
county election precinct polling places and establish countywide
polling places for:
(1) each general election for state and county
officers;
(2) each countywide election held on the uniform
election date in May;
(3) each election on a proposed constitutional
amendment; and
(4) each election of a political subdivision located
in the county that is held jointly with an election described by
Subdivision (1), (2), or (3).
(b) The commissioners court of a county that desires to
participate in the program authorized by this section shall hold a
public hearing on the county's participation in the program. The
commissioners court shall submit a transcript or electronic
recording of the public comments made at the hearing to the
secretary of state. A county that has previously participated in a
similar program and held a public hearing on the county's
participation in that program is not required to hold a hearing
under this subsection.
(c) In conducting the program, the secretary of state shall
provide for an audit of the direct recording electronic voting
units before and after the election, and during the election to the
extent such an audit is practicable.
(d) The secretary of state shall select to participate in
the program each county that:
(1) has held a public hearing under Subsection (b);
(2) has submitted documentation listing the steps
taken to solicit input on participating in the program by
organizations or persons who represent the interests of voters;
(3) has implemented a computerized voter registration
list that allows an election officer at the polling place to verify
that a voter has not previously voted in the election;
(4) uses direct recording electronic voting machines;
and
(5) is determined by the secretary of state to have the
appropriate technological capabilities.
(e) Each countywide polling place must allow a voter to vote
in the same elections in which the voter would be entitled to vote
in the county election precinct in which the voter resides.
(f) In selecting countywide polling places, a county must
adopt a methodology for determining where each polling place will
be located. The total number of countywide polling places may not
be less than:
(1) except as provided by Subdivision (2), 50 percent
of the number of precinct polling places that would otherwise be
located in the county for that election; or
(2) for an election held in the first year in which the
county participates in the program, 65 percent of the number of
precinct polling places that would otherwise be located in the
county for that election.
(g) A county participating in the program must establish a
plan to provide notice informing voters of the changes made to the
locations of polling places under the program. The plan must
require that notice of the location of the nearest countywide
polling place be posted on election day at each polling place used
in the previous general election for state and county officers that
is not used as a countywide polling place.
(h) In adopting a methodology under Subsection (f) or
creating the plan under Subsection (g), the county shall solicit
input from organizations or persons located within the county who
represent minority voters.
(i) The secretary of state may only select to participate in
the program three counties with a population of 100,000 or more and
two counties with a population of less than 100,000.
(j) Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
secretary of state shall file a report with the legislature. The
report must include any complaints or concerns regarding a specific
election that have been filed with the office of the secretary of
state before the preparation of the report and any available
information about voter turnout and waiting times at the polling
places. The report may include the secretary of state's
recommendations on the future use of countywide polling places and
suggestions for statutory amendment regarding the use of countywide
polling places.
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 172, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 172.127 to read as follows:
Sec. 172.127. CONTENT OF SIGN USED TO IDENTIFY POLLING
PLACE LOCATION. (a) This section applies only to a polling place
used to hold an election for more than one political party.
(b) A sign used to indicate the location of a polling place
for a primary election or a primary runoff election must either:
(1) not contain the name of, or symbol representing,
any political party that is holding an election at the polling
place; or
(2) contain each name of, or each symbol representing,
a political party that is holding an election at the polling place.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 719 was passed by the House on April
15, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 719 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, 1
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 719 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor